Who Exactly Is the Master?

"What is their objective?"

"Based on what we know, they took Vegapunk's Artificial Mythical Zoan Fruit, and 'Lust' Sigma has already eaten it."

That bastard Caesar, didn't he say Vegapunk's experiment had failed?

At those words, a vein bulged on Doflamingo's forehead. The man had come to him last night seeking refuge and cooperation, yet he hadn't told the truth.

Fortunately, his intelligence network wasn't just for show, or the man would have fooled him.

"I understand. Keep investigating. There's no need to contact me unless you have important information."

With that, Doflamingo hung up and rose to settle accounts with Caesar.

The man had suddenly gotten a bounty of 500 million. There had to be other secrets he hadn't revealed!

Just then, however, a young woman dressed like a secretary beside him pushed up her glasses and spoke softly.

"Young master, watch out, behind you..."

Doflamingo's expression changed. He spun around, curled his five fingers into a claw, and swiped fiercely.

"Five Color Strings!"

Five threads extended from his fingernails, slicing through everything ahead like sharp blades.

Swish.

The sun lounger, the stone floor tiles, the pillars, and the door and wall behind them were all torn apart by the strike.

A ball of orange ghost fire was also shredded.

The ghost fire, cut into six pieces, fused back together in an instant. Samael grinned.

"Nice reflexes. Are you Donquixote Doflamingo, one of the Shichibukai?"

"Who are you?!"

Doflamingo's expression was grave. Someone had gotten close to him without his noticing. If Monet hadn't warned him, he wouldn't have reacted in time.

He stared closely at the ghost fire before him, his expression gradually darkening as the wanted poster he had seen last night surfaced in his mind.

["Wrath" Samael]

The portrait on that bounty poster was an abstract ball of ghost fire, almost identical to what stood before him.

"You're Samael of the Seven Deadly Sins!"

"Oh, oh, I'm that famous already? How do you know who I am?"

Samael was full of delighted surprise.

Cold sweat covered Doflamingo's forehead. This was the one, wasn't he? The one who had turned Punk Hazard into an island of flames.

"You have a bounty on your head. Didn't you know?"

"What bounty?"

"Monet."

Doflamingo gave his subordinate a look.

The woman named Monet took out a wanted poster and unfolded it before Samael.

"One billion Beli?"

Samael froze for a moment, then flew into a rage. "Who are they looking down on? Damn it, I'm only worth one billion?!"

Doflamingo: "..."

Monet: "..."

That's not how a normal person would react, is it?

Then again, this guy doesn't look like a person in the first place!

Chapter 62: Who Exactly Is the Master?

Samael had always believed his martial prowess was no weaker than that of an admiral or an emperor.

At first, he had been happy to see he had a bounty, but that glaring number had deeply wounded his pride.

How could a mere billion show the world the greatness of "Samael, the God of Fire"?

Samael glared at it in irritation, and the wanted poster burst into flames in an instant.

Monet jumped in fright and hurriedly let go, allowing the poster to flutter to the ground.

"The World Government has no respect for me at all. Next time, I'll go to Mary Geoise and burn their holy land to the ground!"

Hearing that, Doflamingo's lips curled into a smile, and he let out a cunning laugh.

"Fuffuffu, Mr. Samael, forgive my rudeness just now. I thought you were another assassin from who knows where."

He first apologized for his earlier behavior, then changed the subject. "I heard you're going to make a deal with the Big Mom Pirates here?"

"Got a problem with that?"

Samael glanced at him.

Doflamingo instinctively wanted to avoid his gaze. He had just seen clearly how the man could set a wanted poster ablaze from a distance with a glare.

"...No."

What could he say? Even if he had a problem, he wouldn't dare voice it.

Still, this was his first contact with the Seven Deadly Sins, so Doflamingo calmly probed for information.

"May I ask what your deal involves? As your host, I can also make preparations in advance."

"Devil Fruits."

Samael disdained to hide it and told him openly, "We captured one of Big Mom's daughters and demanded a ransom from her. That old woman was such a cheapskate. Not only did she refuse to pay, she sent people to fight us. Keh heh heh, in the end, I easily dealt with the ones she sent too!"

Doflamingo listened with his heart pounding. So that's what happened.

These lunatics really had some nerve, extorting one of the Four Emperors. And from the looks of it, they were close to succeeding.

Although he didn't know which daughter had been captured, the one sent after them was presumably Charlotte Cracker, one of the Sweet Commanders. That matched the news from a while ago.

But on closer thought, would the Big Mom Pirates back down?

Impossible!

Doflamingo had already reached a conclusion: whether the deal succeeded or not, the two groups would definitely fight in the end.

He badly wanted to curse. Couldn't they fight somewhere else? Did they have to come to his territory?

He felt like a helpless husband who couldn't do anything.

"...Mr. Samael, there's actually a small island to the north of Dressrosa called Green Bit."

Better a fellow Daoist die than himself, so Doflamingo chose to divert the trouble elsewhere. "That island is remote, and it's connected to the main island by only an iron suspension bridge. It's well suited for your deal. I can show you the way."

"Hey, kid, you know what's good for you. Want to be my dog?" Samael invited him to be his dog.

Doflamingo's expression froze.

Anger appeared on his subordinate Monet's face. "You insolent brute!" she said bitterly.

"Huh?"

Samael looked at her sideways.

Doflamingo thought quickly. "Monet means I've been too rude! Mr. Samael, you're a guest who's come from afar. I should prepare a banquet for you! Monet, hurry and make the preparations. Do you want me to be rude?"

Monet: "..."

When did the young master become like this? Where did that arrogant, overbearing Shichibukai go?

"Yes, young master."

Monet dared not say more. She immediately left to inform the kitchen.

Samael belatedly caught on and said in disbelief, "That woman was insulting me just now, wasn't she?"

"You misunderstood!"

It wasn't that Doflamingo cared whether Monet lived or died. He just didn't want the territory he had worked so hard to build to become another Punk Hazard.

If this guy flew into a rage, things would get out of hand.

Samael was about to say something else when a figure appeared at the doorway.

His voice arrived before he did.

"Doflamingo, have you made up your mind? Shu..."

Caesar floated over to the outdoor pool. Last night, he and Doflamingo had reached a preliminary agreement: the Donquixote Family would provide the funding, and he would provide the technology, so they could work together to create real Artificial Devil Fruits rather than the failed product Vegapunk had developed.

He had come full of anticipation, but the moment he spotted Samael, the delight on his face gradually turned to terror, until a piercing scream erupted from his throat.

"Gah!!"

Caesar nearly wet himself in fright. Like a gust of wind, he tried to flee this godforsaken place.

Hearing the familiar voice, Samael immediately looked delighted.

"Keh heh heh, you little gas-powered waste of space, we meet again. Where do you think you're running?!"

As he spoke, he conjured a hand of flame and reached out from a distance.

The enormous hand of blazing fire closed around Caesar like a cage, trapping him in its palm and cutting off every possible escape.

"Y-y-you... I ran all the way to Dressrosa, so why did you still come after me?!"

"Little waste of space, even if you ran to the ends of the earth, you couldn't escape my grasp." Samael laughed smugly.

"Doflamingo, save me, quick!" Tears streamed down Caesar's face.

The sudden turn of events left Doflamingo unable to react for a moment.

Only when Caesar suddenly cried for help did he immediately distance himself, speaking to Samael in a low voice.

"He's only a business partner. Don't misunderstand."

Caesar stared in shock. The man had talked so nicely last night, promising to support his research, and now he was turning on him?

Samael floated in front of the flame cage and chuckled like a pervert.

"Why aren't you running anymore? I put on a special show for you last night, and you dared run off before it was over. Hmph, I'm very unhappy."

Thump. Caesar fell to his knees.

"I'm sorry! Lord Samael!"

What kind of show destroys an island?

This lunatic!

The Seven Deadly Sins are all lunatics!

He had fled all the way to Dressrosa overnight, only to see this monster again the next day. Caesar wanted to cry but had no tears, deeply feeling how ill-fated he was.

"Keh heh heh, if apologies worked, what would we need..."

Samael continued to toy with Caesar, but halfway through his sentence, a ghostly voice rang out of nowhere.

"Don't kill him, Samael."

The voice seemed to come from every direction, with an ethereal quality, like the whimper of the wind.

Doflamingo's pupils contracted sharply, and he was horrified.

There's someone else nearby?!

He reflexively spread out his Observation Haki, but couldn't find where the voice was coming from.

"Master!"

The way Samael addressed him next left Doflamingo drenched in cold sweat, an overwhelming dread rising in his heart.

It was the "master" of the Seven Deadly Sins!

The voice spoke slowly, its tone even. The speaker seemed to be a refined, courteous gentleman.

"He possesses the technology for Artificial Devil Fruits. He isn't as good as Vegapunk, but he still has value."